Samoosas
Photo: Craigfraser · CC BY-SA 4.0

Thin pastry triangles filled with spiced mince, chicken or potato and deep-fried to order. South African samoosas run smaller than Indian ones, which is why they are sold three to a bag.

The samoosa came to the Cape twice over: with people enslaved and exiled from Bengal and the Indonesian archipelago from the 1650s, and again with Indian traders and labourers arriving from the 1860s who set up the roti and masala counters that Athlone and Rylands still run. South African samoosas are smaller than Indian ones, wrapped in a thin flour pastry rather than a thick shortcrust, and fried rather than baked. In Bo-Kaap they are sold alongside daltjies, the chilli-bite fritters of gram flour and spinach that are the other half of any Cape Malay snack box.

2 editor picks for Samoosas in Cape Town, ranked by editorial score. All Cape Town signature dishes · Samoosas across every city.

Biesmiellah ★ 4.3

$$South AfricanBo-Kaap

Biesmiellah cooked Cape Malay food in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, for four decades under the Osman family; new owners now run it as a polished Muslim-owned eatery.

OrderA Cape Malay curry with roti, the cooking that built this corner's reputation.

TipNo alcohol is served here; it is a family room built around Cape Malay tradition, not a bar scene.

DirectionsView

Muizenberg Flea Market ★ 3.6

$Street foodMuizenberg

Muizenberg Flea Market fills Sunrise Circle every Sunday with over 300 stalls selling samosas, koesisters, mielies and bric-a-brac near Cape Town's coast.

TipTry the mielies in a cup from R10, and carry some cash, though most stalls also take cards through a card machine.

DirectionsView

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Samoosas makes more sense with someone from Cape Town explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

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